Is Banksy headed west?

CaptionArt by Banksy | 'PARKING'

Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

In this downtown Los Angeles mural, a young girl swings from the word "PARK," formerly written as "PARKING." Just down the block from this area, a downtown resident group is looking to find a little more than $6 million to transform a parking lot into a community park with a playground.

In this downtown Los Angeles mural, a young girl swings from the word "PARK," formerly written as "PARKING." Just down the block from this area, a downtown resident group is looking to find a little more than $6 million to transform a parking lot into a community park with a playground. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

"Kissing Coppers," a life-size portrait of two policemen sharing a kiss, is one of Banksy's most famous artworks. The piece was created in 2004 on the walls of a pub in Brighton, England. It was then carved from the wall and sold to an anonymous buyer in Miami for $575,000 in 2014.

"Kissing Coppers," a life-size portrait of two policemen sharing a kiss, is one of Banksy's most famous artworks. The piece was created in 2004 on the walls of a pub in Brighton, England. It was then carved from the wall and sold to an anonymous buyer in Miami for $575,000 in 2014. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

An 8-foot, 1,500-pound section of cinderblock wall painted by Banksy was removed from an ancient Packard automobile manufacturing plant in Detroit and transported to a police station turned gallery in the same area. The piece's removal sparked conversations about proper places for street art.

An 8-foot, 1,500-pound section of cinderblock wall painted by Banksy was removed from an ancient Packard automobile manufacturing plant in Detroit and transported to a police station turned gallery in the same area. The piece's removal sparked conversations about proper places for street art. (Romain Blanquart / Detroit Free Press)

This original painting first sold for $50 at a Manhattan thrift shop that benefits Housing Works, an organization that fights homelessness and AIDS. Banksy added a Nazi soldier to the landscape scene and Housing Works then sold the new work for $615,000 in an online auction.

This original painting first sold for $50 at a Manhattan thrift shop that benefits Housing Works, an organization that fights homelessness and AIDS. Banksy added a Nazi soldier to the landscape scene and Housing Works then sold the new work for $615,000 in an online auction. (Associated Press)

New York’s outgoing mayor, Michael Bloomberg, wasn't very welcoming to the street artist during a news conference last week at the opening of a Central Park water tunnel. “I just think there are some places for art and there are some places [not for] art,” he said.

Residents of the South Bronx earlier this week complained about a Banksy mural, "Ghetto 4 Life," that went up in the neighborhood.

But if the latest posting can be believed, the elusive street artist and urban prankster is heading west.

No matter what opinions you have of Banksy, the anonymous British graffiti artist whose monthlong "residency" on the streets of New York has drawn crowds of curious onlookers, it would be hard to deny his skills as an art-world publicity machine.

When Banksy began his highly touted "residency" in New York earlier this month, the Twitter account @banksyny was reported by some news outlets -- including the Los Angeles Times -- as belonging to the pseudonymous British street artist. Since then, rumors have been circulating that the...